Thursday, May 29, 2008

A while back, I read a very interesting book that compared life to a train ride or a series of train rides.

Life is like a train ride it read. We get on, we ride, we get off. We get back on and ride some more. There are accidents and there are delays. At certain stops there are surprises. Some of these will translate into great moments of joy, some will result in profound sorrow.

When we are born we first board the train, we meet people whom we think will be with us for the entire journey. Those people are our parents.

Sadly this is far from the truth, Our parents are with us for as long as we absolutely need them. They too have journeys they must complete . We live on with the memories of their love, affection, friendship, guidance and their ever presence.

There are others who board the train who eventually become very important to us in turn. Those people are our brothers, sisters, friends and acquaintances whom we will learn to love and cherish.

Some people consider their journey like a jaunty tour. They will just go merrily along. Others will encounter many upsets, tears, losses on their journey. Others still, will linger on to offer a helping hand to anyone in need.

Some people on the train will leave an everlasting impression when they get off. Some will get on and get off the train so quickly, they will scarcely leave a sign that they ever traveled along with you or ever crossed your path...

We will sometimes be upset that some passengers whom we love, will choose to sit in another compartment and leave us to travel on our own. Then again, there is nothing that says we cant seek them out anyway. Nevertheless, once sought out and found, we may not even be able to sit next to them because that seat will already be taken.

We must constantly strive to understand out travel companions and look for the best in everyone.

Remember that at any moment during our journey, any one of our travel companions can have a weak moment and be in need of our help.

We too may vacillate, or hesitate every trip hopefully we can count on someone being there to be supportive and understanding.

The bigger mystery of our journey is that we don't know when our last stop will come. Neither do we know when our travel companions will make their last stop Not even those sitting in the seat next to us.

I know I will be sad to make my final stop. My separation from all those friends and acquaintances I made during the train ride will be painful. Leaving all those I am close to will be a sad thing. But then again, I am certain that one day I will get to the main station only to meet up with everyone else. They will all be carrying baggage…most of which they did not have when the first got on the train.

I will be glad to see them again, I will also be glad to have contributed to their baggage... and to have enriched their lives, just as much as they will have contributed to my baggage and enriched my life.

We are all on this train ride together. Above all, we should all try to strive to make the ride as pleasant and memorable as we can right up until we can make the final stop and the leave the train for the last time...

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The Google Earth Plug-in and its JavaScript API new from Google will let you embed Google Earth into your web pages. Using this API you can draw markers and lines, drape images over the terrain, add 3D models, or load KML files, allowing you to build sophisticated 3D map applications. If you have an existing Maps API site, you can 3D-enable your page with as little as one line of code.

Friday, May 23, 2008

With Google Sites anyone can create and manage a simple, secure group website. You can create and publish new pages with the click of a button, edit web pages like documents, and move content and pages around as you please. Information is stored securely online, and you decide who can edit or view the site. Google Sites is powerful enough for a company intranet, yet simple enough for a family website.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

In this short vid from the head of Google's webspam team, Matt Cutts, provides some great tips on how to optimize the images you include on your website. A how to directly from Google with useful, accurate information on your ALT attributes and how they can make your photos and pictures more accessible.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Before there was Kerouac, There was Paskowitz. But he took his wife and nine children along for the ride. They lived the true surf lifestyle in a 24 foot long camper. While following the seasons and the tides, they answered to no one and became surfings royal family.

1) Diet with lots of fruits and vegetables and little meat, 2) Exercise to burn what you eat3) Rest eight hours a day4) Recreation in a kind of play that re-creates you (Surfing!)5) Positive attitude of mind

"Diet, exercise, rest, recreation and attitude of mind, all working together, can make the young man a superman, and an old man, older." Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz

The Paskowitz Surf Camp is still going strong, Contact my good friend Izzy if you feel the need to paddle out and catch the stoke.

Friday, May 16, 2008

I had a chance to attend the Microsoft Launch event in San Diego, while I was there I decided to drop in and Flip MindTouch, the developers of DekiWiki. Many thanks to Aaron and Damien for lunch, we had tasty lamb kabob something burritos. Very much enjoyed our discussion regarding the new Deki CMS product, now available thru SourceForge. If you plan on building a website and want to include all the functionality of a Wiki then this is a product you will want to take a look at.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Google Doctype is an open encyclopedia and reference library. Written by web developers, for web developers. It includes articles on web security, JavaScript DOM manipulation, CSS tips and tricks, and more. The reference section includes a growing library of test cases for checking cross-browser and cross-platform compatibility.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Heroes are all around us. Whether the hero is a neighbor, relative, co-worker, teacher, or you, people are working every day both collectively and independently to change the world, From developing technology innovations to adding value to business to reducing energy consumption, these everyday heroes are living among us, working in server room, optimizing infrastructures, developing tools and turning date into relevant insights.

1. Opens up the Lines of Communication between Customer/Clients & Website Owner. You can do this in many ways. Such as Forums or adding a Blog to your Static Website.

2. Let your Customer/Clients know via a Blog about Sales, Promotions, New items, Recalls, etc. Adding a Blog with a RSS feed to your website is a great way to let your customers and readers know about important updates.

3. Adding a Blog to your Website can add new content / web pages to your site. This causes more entrances to your Website for Serps and for Viewers.

4. Add Social Bookmarking buttons to your static pages and let viewers bookmark them. This can add extra traffic to your website when their social bookmarks are shared with others.

5. Using Social Media can let your website compete with other websites/blogs that have larger marketing bank accounts.

6. Using Photo sharing for your Product Images can bring traffic in to your website.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Now with Google maps you can explore locations around the world! View local photos and YouTube videos, discover popular searches and places of interest, and browse user-created maps or design your own!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Surfwise Sneak Preview Tonight, May 7th on HD.net, at 6 PM PT, with an encore at 9 PM PT.

Surfwise follows the odyssey of 85-year-old, legendary surfer Dr. Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, his wife Juliette, and their nine children - all of whom were home-schooled on the beaches of Southern California, Hawaii, Mexico and Israel; they surfed every day of their lives, and were forced to adhere to a strict diet and lifestyle of animals in the wild, by their passionate and demanding, health-conscious father.

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Microsoft and Yahoo have yet to work out a deal for Microsoft to takeover Yahoo via a stock bid in the $30 range. We at Webconsuls are not noting this in the slight chance that you hold Yahoo stock or in my case stock options. It is significant to note the impact of re-merger of the 2 giants in the search results category.

That is, Yahoo and MSN used to have a search marketing partnership which ended about 2 years ago. With Google the clear market share majority player, it would be nice to see Yahoo beef up its partners, especially for MSN who since the split from Yahoo has yet to be a formidable opponent.

In a perfect world, Yahoo Sponsored Search would give us the option of eliminating the partner network with the exception of MSN, should a merger ever be completed.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Scheduled blog post publishing, which was first talked about on Blogger in draft last month, is now live for everyone. So if you set a post's date into the future, Blogger will wait to publish until that time comes!!!

It is now a cool Sunday morning in Souther California, I have a hot cup of coffee, and I am putting together Monday mornings blog post. So for all of you reading this Monday May 5th Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Scheduling a post is easy to do: on the post editor page, click the "Post Options" toggle to show the "Post date and time" fields. Then, type a post date and time that's in the future. When you click the "Publish" button, your post will become "scheduled." When the date and time of the post arrive, it will be automatically published to your blogger blog.

"Scheduled" posts appear in your Edit Posts list alongside your drafts and published posts. To un-schedule a post, simply save it as a draft any time before it gets published.

One quick note: If you want to give a post a date in the future but have it appear on your blog now, you'll need to add in an extra step. First, publish your post with the current date and time. This will make it appear on your blog. Then, edit the post to change the date into the future and publish it again.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Social Networking websites such as MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn are growing and some people still don't know about them. It's easy to make an account. Simply sign up and see how many of your friends are on there. Then, view their friends profiles and see how you can relate to them or find their knowledge or connections useful to you.

It's a great way to expand your social network and get to know more of your friends friends.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.